Joseph Monahan

Joseph Monahan, Ph.D., has served as Aclaris’ Chief Scientific Officer since January 2021 and has more than 35 years of pharmaceutical research experience. Previously, Joseph served as Aclaris’ Executive Vice President, Research and Development.

Prior to joining Aclaris, Joseph founded the biotechnology company, Confluence Life Sciences, Inc. in 2010 and functioned as the Chief Scientific Officer. He has also held multiple research leadership positions at Pfizer Inc., including Executive Director, Inflammation Research, global kinase platform leadership team lead; site head of enzymology and biophysics, and inflammation research and development lead. Throughout his career, he led the advancement of project portfolios from early discovery through phase 1 and 2 clinical development. He has held adjunct and visiting professor positions at Washington University Medical School, University of Missouri, and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. He has published over 85 peer-reviewed publications and is listed as co-inventor on 14 patents.

Joseph received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of New York at Buffalo and a Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry from the University of South Carolina.